I'd be interested to hear the radio comms from Sky, I'd bet on it being like "slow down, we can't pull a minute gap on Contador, it would raise suspicion". Eeking out a win by a few seconds while going last seems all too coincidental.

Can you really blame a fan base for their skepticism after they've been burned for so many years? Really?Things were already bad enough prior to 2012, with a waterfall of former greats falling down in disgrace. Years of stage winners and GT winners such as Ricco and DiLuca doping with an air about them that surfaced as pompous but ultimately pointed to a serious, and tragic, addiction in disturbed psyches. Years of fallout from Operation Puerto and other drug-related stings. Then came the US Postal revelations - which stretched even beyond Armstrong himself, even though he was the focal point. The knife cutting that final bit of skin was implicit involvement with the UCI.That was just last year.

It's now barely a year since the last major saga that we've been through and we're seeing things that - objectively speaking - are reminiscent of past performances, both individually and with a team. With the team in question, the same patterns of action and public relations are all too familiar.

So, even if you believe this is not history repeating itself, objectively speaking this is uncannily reminiscent of an all-too-familiar past. Even if you believe that everything is clean, how can you blame your fellow cycling fan for being skeptical, apprehensive, or reticent to accept the reality that you want to believe?

If they are skeptical, that's fine. If they don't believe the "clean reality" that you see, that's fine. They have every right to be skeptical and question things, just as any person can - but especially after having been burned for years.

In time we will know the truth of the matter - in either direction - but please, let's have some respect for both sides of an opinion here. It is justified.Thanks.

In time we will know the truth of the matter - in either direction - but please, let's have some respect for both sides of an opinion here. It is justified.Thanks.

No it's not justified - people are comparing apples with oranges and ignoring facts that happen to blunt their swords. It's cynical biased views with an agenda. It's like saying it's OK to be racist because your parents and grandparents were.

In time we will know the truth of the matter - in either direction - but please, let's have some respect for both sides of an opinion here. It is justified.Thanks.

No it's not justified - people are comparing apples with oranges and ignoring facts that happen to blunt their swords. It's cynical biased views with an agenda. It's like saying it's OK to be racist because your parents and grandparents were.

Really? The evidence for cycling having a deeply rooted doping problem that has yet to be properly tackled is legion. How can that be compared to inherited bigotry?

All the gossip and speculation is part of the fun! I have to agree (mostly) with Wingnut and disagree with Phil Liggett - I'm just not that excited by the race for second. But I am excited about the USA Pro Challenge. Stage 6 goes right by my house! Got my stuffed pig and mankini ready to go.

"One thing I never thought I'd see, Joaquim Rodriguez almost winning a time trial. Chris Froome winning from Contador is no surprise but Purito chasing them hard, now that's worth noting. He and Katusha could well hold the cards to how the final stages play out. "

I'm with prendrefeu on this. The doubters may not be right, but they have every right to be doubters (and sure, you can replace doubters by believers and I'll endorse that too).

My subjective take: humans respond to incentives. And the incentives still overwhelmingly favor doping if you are a 20 year old whose ticket to a good life is an ability to pedal a bike fast. Detection methods lack sensitivity, and you can make it throughg years of racing and winning without being caught, especially if you have decent medical supervision. And if you get caught, well, you still had a good run - eg, despite last year's scandal, the US postal team members still come out ahead imo. Even di Luca has a monument to his likeness atop the colle delle Finestre to commemorate his crossing in 1st position in 2005 (he did not even win the stage). Unless the incentive structure changes (eg better detection, harsher consequences, or both) I don't see why the behaviors would change. But as with any general rule, there are exceptions, so here is to hoping that we are seeing one now.

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